Head of Accounts Payable EMEA

Location: This is a hybrid role, offering a combination of working remotely and from our Riga office in Latvia or in the UK: in London, Corby or Manchester.

Contract Type: Permanent

The Opportunity

We’re looking for an experienced and forward‑thinking Head of Accounts Payable to lead our EMEA AP function within Global Shared Business Services (GSBS). This pivotal leadership role is accountable for transforming how we deliver AP services across a multi‑location, geographically distributed team. You’ll lead a team of around 20 colleagues, shape a modern, efficient, best‑in‑class AP operation, and influence the end‑to‑end Procure‑to‑Pay process across the region. If you’re passionate about process transformation, operational excellence, and inspiring high‑performing teams, this is a role where you will have visible impact across the entire organisation.

What You Will Be Doing

• Redesigning, standardising, and optimising the EMEA Accounts Payable operating model.
• Introducing automation, improved processes, stronger controls, and digital solutions.
• Influencing purchasers and stakeholders to adopt new ways of working across the Procure‑to‑Pay lifecycle.
• Leading, developing, and motivating a multi‑location AP team, building capability and accountability.
• Fostering a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Owning end‑to‑end invoice processing and supplier payment performance.
• Ensuring invoices are processed accurately, promptly, and in full compliance with policy, audit, and legal requirements.
• Driving performance against SLAs, KPIs, and operational excellence targets.
• Partnering with senior stakeholders across Finance, Procurement, GSBS, and the wider business.
• Collaborating with the Procure‑to‑Pay Global Process Owner to improve processes ahead of ERP implementation.
• Using data and insights to influence decision‑making and drive behavioural change.
• Enhancing AP controls, governance, and compliance across all markets.
• Identifying and mitigating operational and financial risks.
• Ensuring accurate, complete, up‑to‑date process documentation.

Essential Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience within Accounts Payable or Procure‑to‑Pay in multi‑market or multi‑location environments.
• Strong track record of driving transformation, standardising processes, and embedding new ways of working in complex organisations.
• Confident and credible influencer, able to engage effectively from operational teams up to senior leaders.
• Highly analytical and data‑driven, with the ability to build meaningful performance reporting.
• Strong people leader with high emotional intelligence and a passion for developing high‑performing teams.
• Curious, resilient, pragmatic, and able to operate effectively in a fast‑moving environment.
• Fluent in both Latvian and English (spoken and written).
• Experience of building and running a large, complex global AP function.
• Motivated by improving processes, inspiring teams, influencing change, and delivering exceptional service.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience with finance or IT transformation programmes, particularly SAP.
• Experience integrating acquisitions and new business entities.
• Additional language skills.

Benefits

• Financial – pension/retirement; life assurance; salary finance (payroll deduction loan scheme)
• Wellbeing – medical plans; health screening; critical illness; disability insurance; holiday / paid time off; employee assistance programme; discounted gym/health club membership
• Lifestyle – transportation assistance schemes (e.g., cycle to work, travel loans, car leasing); onsite catering/lunch vouchers; retail discounts

Global recognition programme to highlight and recognise people modelling our values.